The Alchemist and the Sorceress
by Lehabim
Summary: Ed and Al are traveling when they find a young woman unconscious. They rescue her only to find that she is shrouded in mystery and has many enemies after her. Will anything bloom or will disaster strike? Rated for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm so hungry," Edward complained as he and Alphonse walked down the road. It was almost noon and they had been walking since morning along this deserted desert road. His stomach rumbled its complaint.

"Um, Ed?" Alphonse said, looking at something ahead of them.

"Don't worry," Ed said, talking to his stomach, "I'll get you something to eat, I promise."

"Ed?" Al said, tapping his brother lightly before pointing ahead of them.

"What?" he followed the finger to a form on the side of the road and Ed's eyes went wide. It was a body.

It was a girl. She had long black hair with blue highlights that was lying on the ground beneath her slim body. She was wearing a royal blue halter top that only covered her somewhat large chest and baggy black pants. She had a really good physique too, Ed noticed. He knelt next to her and brushed some strands of hair out of her face, getting a better look at her. She was alive, but very dehydrated.

"We need to get her out of this sun," Ed said, forgetting his hunger as he lifted her off the ground bridal-style. He thanked God that he had gotten taller over the past couple of years because it made her easier to carry. Her body was limp in his arms and he started walking, not waiting for a response from Alphonse.

His brother followed silently.

Her eyes squeezed tight and slowly opened, revealing sapphire orbs. She sat up slowly, putting a hand to her head.

"You're awake," Ed said from the side of her bed, "I'm glad. You've been sleeping for over a day." The girl stared at him, confused. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake up at all."

"Where am I?" she asked in a smooth melodic voice.

"You're at an inn," Ed explained, "My brother and I found you on the side of the road and brought you here. My name's Edward Elric, but you can call me Ed. What's your name?"

She looked at him in surprise, but regained her composure. "Where I come from, people do not have names," she explained, "But I am called 0:0:0 at the Academy." authors note-said like zero zero zero

He stared at her, dumbfounded, not knowing how to reply to that. But he somehow managed to regain his composure under her intense gaze. "Then why don't I give you a name," he said brightly.

"You mean that I can have a name?"

"Yea, sure. Why the hell not!" Ed went into deep thought, mumbling to himself. 0:0:0 watched him with an unwavering gaze. "I got it! It's perfect. And you won't even have to think about it when people talk to you because it's similar to your number."

"What is it?" she asked, stopping his ramblings.

Ed sweat-dropped and blushed a little before continuing. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm gonna call you Zero, as in the word, and Ze for short." He was beaming, quite proud of himself for giving her a name.

"Zero…" she rolled the word over her tongue as if she had never heard it before. Then she smiled, a smile that brightened her entire face and pleased Ed.

"You should do that more often," he said calmly and she looked at him, confused, "Smile, I mean. It really suits ya Ze."

She brightened again and smiled even bigger. But Ed's stomach decided to butt in and rumbled loudly, sending Zero laughing at Ed, which of course made him blush slightly. "It looks like you're hungry, Ed," Zero laughed, "Lets go get something to eat."

She was tall, Ed noticed. Almost as tall as his 6', but not quite. They walked out of the room and went downstairs to the dining room. Zero surveyed the area quickly, calculating moods and personality types in seconds. But something at the bar caught her eye. It was a suit of armor, and a large one at that. And Ed was heading right for it. Zero followed, curious.

"Oh, so you're awake?" a boy's voice exited the armor, surprising her slightly. "My name's Alphonse. I'm Ed's younger brother." He extended a friendly hand, though neither he nor Ed expected her to take it from the stunned look on her face. Alphonse lowered his head slightly and started dropping his hand.

But she caught it in a strong grasp, surprising him. He looked up to see her smiling at him sweetly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alphonse," she said lightly as her elegant, yet strong fingers released him so that she could take a seat between him and Ed. The brothers looked at each other before turning around to face front.

"What can I get y'all on this fine day?" the waitress asked sweetly. She was a short round woman in her mid thirties.

Zero stared at the woman. "I get to choose what I want to eat?" she asked, "You don't just give me something?"

The woman stared at her curiously, not knowing how to respond. Ed stepped in to save her. "My friend here's from outta town," he said, putting his arm on Zero's shoulder, "She'll have the special, and I'll have the same."

The waitress smiled and went back to the kitchen. Ed sighed in relief as he removed his hand from her shoulder and smiled at her. "I'm sure you'll like the food here, Ze. It's great."

Zero's face suddenly went blank. She then closed her eyes, eyebrow twitching slightly. She was grinding her teeth, trying to hold something back. Ed moved his gaze from her to a man that had appeared behind her. He had one hand on her stomach and the other on her inner thigh. He was obviously drunk.

"Hey sweetie," he said while he started rubbing her bare stomach. Ed felt his blood start to boil. "Why don't you and me go somewhere and have a little fun, eh?"

"I'm no prostitute," she stated coldly, trying to remain calm, "Now get your hands off me, before you get hurt."

"Aw, come on baby," he managed to say before hiccupping.

"I said no."

"I'll be sure to make it worth your while, baby," he whispered none too softly and started massaging his way up her leg. Ed was ready to punch the guy's lights out by now, but never got the chance to.

Zero snapped at his last gesture and the man was sent careening to the opposite side of the room. Zero was now standing, trying to slow her breathing down from the incredible anger she was feeling. "Fucking pervert," she muttered under her breath. "How dare he touch me like that."

He got up slowly and glared at Zero. "You fucking bitch!" he yelled, "How dare you hi-"

He froze when he saw the look in her eyes. It was so icy and cold that he started to shake. "Leave," she commanded. He turned and nearly fell running out of the inn. Zero sighed before turning around and sitting on her stool again. Ed stared at her, dumbfounded and somewhat scared of her fierceness. But he also found himself strangely attracted to her because of this fact.

She noticed him staring at her and looked over at him. "What? I don't like perverted men who think that just because I dress this way makes me some sort of whore for hire," she stated matter-of-factly.

He smiled at her. "I agree completely," he replied, "And I think every guy in this town is gonna think twice before going up to a beautiful girl again."

Zero blushed a little, not knowing what to say. She'd never been called beautiful before and didn't know how to respond to the compliment. But the arrival of the food saved her from her response because Ed was immediately scarfing it down, causing both Al and Zero to sweat-drop.

As she ate, Zero became lost in her thoughts. _These are nice guys. They treat me like a normal human being. But I'm not. And I don't want them getting hurt because of my being what I am._

Alphonse noticed her demeanor, but said nothing, as though he knew she would probably leave if he asked.


	2. Chapter 2

Zero walked silently through the streets of the village wearing a black cloak. She could sense the one like her watching her, following her, but she showed no signs of knowing. She had left the inn as soon as she had felt the presence, leaving the sleeping (and snoring in Ed's case) brothers behind without waking them up.

She made her way out of the village and into the desert, where she finally stopped. He was still watching her; she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck still on end from his presence. "Are you going to come out and face me?" she demanded, "Or are you to cowardly to show yourself?"

There was a shimmer in front of her and the scenery distorted into the shape of another cloaked figure. "Well if it isn't Triple 12," she said with a smirk, knowing how much they other students at the Academy of Sorcery hated it when she shortened their numbers.

(auther's note: I'm just gonna call him 12 to make things easier.)

12 glared at her coldly. "I have been sent to eliminate you, 0:0:0," he stated and fell silent, waiting for what he knew would come from her lips.

"So be it," she said, demeanor changing to a cold one, "But it is your own death at stake. I challenge you to a death battle."

He smirked and the sand rose in a giant arch and came careening towards her. "Is this your best?" she stated and simply waved her hand. The sands dispersed, not one grain touching her. She stared coldly at 12, and he took a slight step back, knowing this was his end. "Your death will not be pointless," she assured him as the whites of her eyes turned red. He was engulfed in flames, incinerating him in an instant.

Zero sighed deeply. A feeling of overwhelming shock filled her as her empathy picked up the emotions of someone close and she froze.

Al stared at Zero in complete shock, not wanting to believe what he had just seen. "Zero…why?"

She turned to face him. "Al…you're supposed to be asleep…" she said softly, regret in her eyes and voice, "You weren't supposed to see that."

Al was surprised by the regret she was showing. "All I want to know is why, Zero. Why did you just kill that man?"

A long silence followed his question. Al could tell she was having a hard time trying to tell him, and waited patiently for her to answer. "I'm not like you, Al," she said at last, so quietly he could barely hear her, "I'm different from everyone on this hell hole we call earth."

"That doesn't explain why you killed him!"

"When two sorcerers duel, it is always a duel to the death," she said coldly, "And if I hadn't dueled him, he would have gone after, and killed, innocent humans in order to get to me. And that's something I can't allow to happen."

"You say that like you're not human," Al said after a long silence.

"I said that because I'm not human, Al," Zero said softly, pain filling her voice, "I'm a Sorceress of the Academy. Or I would be if the Elders hadn't banished me." Venom dripped from her words now, surprising Al.

She turned and started walking away. "Wait! Where are you going?" Al's voice stopped her.

"I'm leaving, Al," she said as calmly as she could. She really liked these brothers and felt a special feeling already starting for Ed. "I understand that you don't want me around."

"I didn't say that!" Al said, "I don't want you to go. I'm sure Ed wouldn't want you to leave either. You're our friend, Zero."

"You…you still want me around?" he could barely hear her now.

"Yes!"

"Even though I'm not human?"

"Don't say that, Ze!" Al yelled at her as he went over and grabbed her arm to make her look at him. "You are human. It doesn't matter what you do or what you are on the outside. It's what's on the inside that determines man from beast."

She stared at him for a while, not knowing how to respond. _He wants me to stay. He doesn't care what I am. _"You won't tell Ed?" she asked, looking down at her feet.

He knew what she meant by that. "Not if you don't want me too," he said and released her hand.

"Thank you Al."

"You're welcome."


	3. Chapter 3

Ed, Al and Zero were waiting at the train station a few weeks later. Ed was constantly stealing glances at Ze to see is she had cooled down any from earlier instances. She had her arms crossed tightly over her chest, somewhat increasing its cleavage. But no man would dare come near her at the moment. Sheer and blatant irritation was spread across her face for the world to see as she tapped the foot that was in the air from her legs being crossed.

Ed and Al both knew she was very mad at them at the moment, mostly Ed though. Over the past few weeks, the three had grown very close to each other in that short period of time. Al still kept Zero's secret to himself and both managed to keep Ed from suspecting anything.

But Ed and Ze seemed closer none the less. They knew each other's personalities upside down and inside out. Ed and Al were the closest thing to family Ze had ever known, but that didn't keep her from getting mad at them every now and then.

Ed tried to make things a little more comfortable between them. "It's such a beautiful day today," he said as he stretched.

"And just think," Ze said sarcastically, "We could be enjoying equally beautiful scenery from a train right now."

The brothers cringed at her tone. "Aw, come on Ze," Al pleaded but she cut him off.

"Don't even try Al," she snapped and glared at Ed, who flinched, "If _someone_ would've woken up _on time _we wouldn't be in this situation of having to wait until noon to get another train to Central." Without saying a word, she stood and walked away from them.

Ed started after her, but Al stopped him. "Give her some time to cool down, brother," he said. But he knew the real reason for Ze's sudden absence. She had felt the presence of another sorcerer, but he wouldn't tell Ed that.

Ed slumped down next to his brother and sighed. "I just don't get her sometimes," he said, not really expecting an answer.

"She's a woman, brother," Al said, trying to comfort him, "and no man in the world is supposed to be able to understand women."

"I know that Al, it's-" he was cut off by an explosion in the direction Zero had walked. "Zero!"

He was off and running in that direction before Al could stop him. He quickened his pace when there was a second explosion, only much nearer this time.(Genchan: Well no duh it's closer, he's been running towards it. Stupid fingers typing faster than I can think.)

They ended up in a clearing outside the city. Ed couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what was happening there. There was Zero, in a defensive stance, across from another cloaked girl. Invisible winds whipped the hair of both girls in some magical dance. Ed was about to use his alchemy to help her, but Ze's opponent stopped him.

"Don't interfere, Alchemist," she snapped, "This is between myself and the deserter. You have no place in this battle."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't-"

"That's enough, Ed," Ze's voice cut him off and he stared at her, "If you helped you would only hold me back."

Ed looked at Al, a confused look in his golden eyes. "Did you know about this, Al?"

Al nodded his head, "I did. But she asked me not to tell you so I didn't."

"Why didn't she want me to know?" the elder brother asked, turning back to his best friend, who was blocking a barrage of vine attacks coming from all angles.

"She was afraid you wouldn't want to be around her anymore, brother," Al explained, "She isn't like the rest of the humans. She's a Sorceress."

_"Shan tha ne, le ni tola," _Zero started speaking a strange language, causing her opponent's attack to stop abruptly and her eyes to widen. Zero's eyes turned solid red in color as she continued. _"La thil ac onura. Shek ustai, nath a fer neko."_

"No!" the cloaked girl screamed, "That spell can be cast by no one! How is this happening?"

"Take back your challenge and I will spare your life," Ze said in a voice distorted from the spell she was casting.

Her opponent's green eyes flared in anger. "A duel is to the death!" she screamed, "Now finish me!"

_"Lehah!" _a ring of fire appeared around the two Sorceresses, "I give you one final chance to back down before I strike."

"Finish it!" the girl knelt to the ground, slamming it with her hand and causing vines to again fly towards Zero.

"I didn't want to kill you," Ze whispered, "but you give me no choice. _ Kaiyan"_

The field erupted in flames so hot that Ed and Al had to back away so that they weren't burnt by the air itself. But Ed kept his eyes on the smoking pillar, waiting for it to clear away so that he could be sure that his friend was okay.

A strong wind rose suddenly, clearing the smoke from the earth. But Ed wasn't ready for the scene that awaited him. Everything inside the circle had been incinerated, leaving nothing behind but ash. There was one larger pile of ash where the enemy Sorceress had once stood, but only one.

There was no sign of Zero anywhere.

"No…" Ed walked slowly to where she had been standing only minutes before. The heat rising from the ground burned his eyes, but he fought back the tears from that and the tears that threatened at the thought of his best friend being dead. "Zero…come back…"

He fell to his knees and gave in to his emotions. Tears streaked down his face as he realized that he hadn't gotten the chance to apologize to her before she died. "I'm so sorry Ze."

Al came up behind his brother and placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder and waited until Ed was ready to speak. "I should've saved her…" the elder brother's voice was barely a whisper, "I should've interfered. I could have saved her if I hadn't hesitated."

"It was her decision, brother," Al said, "a decision she made to save us from having to fight a Sorceress with only alchemy by our side. It would have been an easy win for any Sorcerer."

"But-"

"She saved our lives, Ed," the younger brother said matter-of-factly, "We should be thanking her spirit, wherever it is now."

Ed's head drooped as his tears continued to fall. "Ze…Wherever you are…I just wanted to say this…thank you, my friend."

_"Your thanks has been heard by the Flame Sorceress, Full Metal Alchemist," a shadow said from a distant mountain, "But you shall never see her again, for she does not believe that which you have just said."_


	4. Chapter 4

Sirene ran through the town, her chasers close at her heels. She didn't understand why they were so upset. She had only punched some pervert feeling her up and the next thing she knew she had a bunch of men after her. Her long brown ponytail streaked behind her as she ran through the streets. She noticed the guys getting farther behind her and smirked at the thought of getting away so easily.

But such things never happen.

**CLANK **

Sirene fell backwards onto her backside from running into something metal. She shook her head before glaring up at what she had run into with her violet eyes. But her eyes widened in shock when she saw it was some guy in armor. "What the hell…?"

"I'm sorry," a boy's voice said from inside the armor and she looked up at him confused, "I didn't mean to get in your way. It's just that my brother wouldn't move when I told him to."

Sirene looked over to see a tall blonde man scratching his head next to the boy in armor. He grinned at her nervously. "Sorry," he chuckled, "I couldn't understand what Al was saying."

"It's ok," she smiled as she stood, "But to repay me, you can try and get these guys to stop chasing me, Full Metal Alchemist." She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder at the group of men that had just started slowing.

The blonde seemed shocked that she knew who he was but sighed and started towards the men. "What business do you have with this young woman?" he asked, showing his watch to prove that he was a State Alchemist.

"Arrest that girl!" they demanded, all pointing fingers at Sirene.

"And what did she do to warrant an arrest? It had better be a pretty damn good reason too."

"She beat up our friend!"

Ed looked back at Sirene, "Did you?"

"In self defense!" she retorted, "The pervert was sexually harassing me!"

"Is that so?" he turned back to the men, "Then it would seem he deserved what he got, meaning that I have nothing else to do here." He turned and started walking back to his brother and the girl, angering the men. But he stopped them before they could get close. "You don't want to mess with me," he warned without looking back at them.

"Why the hell should we be scared of you?" one asked.

"Because I'm the Full Metal Alchemist."

"F-F-F-Full Metal!?!?!?!?" the men turned and ran, not wanting to mess with one of the most powerful alchemists in the world.

Ed chuckled as they ran; an old memory of Zero laughing at men he would chase away filled his mind. A sad smile adorned his face as he looked up at the sky. It had been one year since she had died and he still wasn't fully over her death yet. He probably never would be because of how close the two of them had grown in such a short period of time. A breeze blew his blonde bangs into his face as he closed his eyes, pretending that it was her telling him that she was still with him.

Sirene was about to say something but Al stopped her with a hand signal and shook his head. She looked up at him questioningly but nodded and waited for Ed's moment to pass. It passed when his stomach rumbled loudly and his face turned a light shade of red as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Sounds like you're hungry," Sirene laughed, which only made Ed glare at her and blush harder, "Why don't you guys come to my place and eat dinner. It'll be like a reward for saving me from those perverts."

"Great!" Ed jumped at the opportunity for free food, making Al sweat-drop. "Let's go!"

Sirene nodded and led them out of town. After about fifteen minutes of walking, Ed began to complain. "Exactly how far away do you live…umm, sorry but I don't think I got your name."

"It's Sirene," she told him, "And I live on the top of that hill." She pointed to what was more along the size of a small mountain. There was an enormous house at the peak.

"You call that a hill?" Ed asked sarcastically, "This is gonna take forever."

"Aw shut up and just walk," Sirene said and continued up the slope, "It aint my fault if you're out of shape."

The group made their way up the mountainside slowly. Ed only complained a few times about the hike. But there was something about this place that drew his attention away from his rumbling stomach. He felt as though something was waiting for him there, like something was calling him towards the mansion at the top of the hill. Al chattered away with Sirene like they were old friends, making Ed smile. He was happy that his brother had found what seemed to be a good friend. The two of them together reminded him of how he and Zero had been, which brought the sad smile back to his face.

"Ed. We're here." He started at the Sirene's voice, making her roll her eyes at him. "Let's go. I think my mistress would like to meet you two."

"Your mistress?" the brothers looked at each other.

"Yea," Sirene smiled up at them, "She's taken care of me for a long time now. She's very powerful. Come on, I'll take you to her now."

The alchemists shrugged and followed brown haired woman. She led them to a pair of large oak doors with elaborately carved mythical beasts engraved in the wood. The large brass doorknobs were shaped into the forms of dragons flaming with their wings open. The flames exiting their mouths arched to form the handles which Sirene used to open the doors. The chamber was of incredible proportions. The ceiling was high above their heads and the brothers had to crane their necks to see the beautiful paintings of the creatures along the walls and ceiling that had been carved into the doors. There were unicorns running freely over grassy plains and Pegasus soaring through mountains. Gryphons guarded and flew through their nesting grounds as a rainbow of dragons soared above all of the others, flaming their dominance over all the creatures below.

Sirene stopped in front of the dais and bowed her head to the woman standing on it. Ed stopped in his tracks at the sight of her back alone. She had long black hair that cascaded down her back to be tied into a royal blue ribbon at its ends. A black silken gown adorned her slim, curved body and left her shoulders bare with a flame like hem. The sleeves ended in a flaming triangle on her hand that looped around her middle finger. There was a golden red bird on her long slender fingers that looked up from its preening and directly at Ed with its dark blue eyes. _It can't be…There's no way…  
_

The woman straitened suddenly, causing the bird to chirp in protest before flying over to its perch quickly. "M'lady," Sirene said calmly, "I have brought people who helped me today and kept me from harm." The woman remained in stiff silence. "One of them is the Full Metal Alchemist, m'lady."

"I know that, Sirene," the woman stated coldly as she turned around. Ed couldn't believe his eyes or ears, "I know that all too well."


End file.
